I just received an email from MathUSee, a math skills mastery program we use. It took me nearly two years to find a math program which worked for my son.
I am VERY unhappy to hear they have "revamped their entire curriculum to incorporate Common Core." If I wanted a math program which taught social engineering versus actual Math, my kids would be in public schools.
I've emailed Math-U-See and asked them for sample pages. I'm going to be really unhappy if (a) it's as bad as I think it might be, and (b) I have to buy the next 5 years of math NOW just so I can get away from Common Core.
It's really unfortunate MUS didn't bother to do a survey of its customer base before they jumped on the "me too" social engineering bandwagon.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Remember when you fought for Liberty?
(Gardening has been updated.)
The following article originally appeared in the Canada Free Press under the headline Smart Mormons. It's author, Mike Jensen, is NOT a "Mormon" (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) I thought it was worth pondering, particularly since someone just asked me about this very subject, Mormons & liberty. I wish he'd written it BEFORE the election--maybe the Tea Party would have read it and backed Romney & we'd be singing a different tune in the White House today.
"I'm inspired by this Mormon theological idea: God intended for humans to be free to make our own choices and live with the consequences of those choices." (MJ)
By Mike Jensen, Canada Free Press, Tuesday January 22, 2013
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/print-friendly/52591
During the 2012 US Presidential campaign, that awesomely deep well of perpetual wisdom, Alec Baldwin, proclaimed that if Barack Obama were not black, his vote total would have been 20 percent higher.
People of real intelligence realize that the opposite was probably true. If he had been white, his vote total would have been 20 percent lower. The African-American voting bloc, combined with enough whites suffering from liberal guilt guaranteed a higher vote total for Obama.
The truth of the matter is, if Mitt Romney had not been a Mormon, his vote total might have been significantly higher. In fact, according to a Gallup poll released in June of last year, while 4 percent of people said they would not vote for a black president, a full 22 percent said they would not vote for a Mormon. Only (non-votes) atheists and gays ranked higher.
So Baldwin probably had it backwards, which he usually does, so that comes as no surprise.
What did come as a surprise to me is why people would have such negative views of Mormons. I have known lots of them in my life, and in most cases they have been hard-working, kind, generous, family oriented people--just the kind of people this country used to value (and maybe that's the problem right there.)
Mormons have intrigued me ever since Mike Huckabee back in 2007 claimed that Mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers. With the recent election over, I decided to check out Mormons a bit more. My hope in doing this was to explain to readers who Mormons are, and whether or not 22 percent of the people were justified in opposing having a Mormon president.
But instead I'm going to share an intriguing bit of Mormon theology I learned that I think makes them perhaps the most politically wise human beings on the planet. Ironically, this story stems from that Mike Huckabee quote about the relationship between Jesus & the devil, but the lesson to be learned is one that, regardless of our political or religious views, we would all be wise to consider.
So here's what I learned: Mormons, unlike most other Christian sects, believe that all humans lived in a life before mortality. They call this the pre-existence or pre-earth life. At birth a veil is placed over our minds so that we don't remember it (you'll see why in a minute.)
In this pre-earth life, we were all in the presence of God as His spirit children. Jesus was there--the first born of God's spirit children, and a leader in the councils of Heaven. Lucifer was also there, and was another leader among the children of God. He was called a "son of the morning."
At some point in this existence, the Father called all of His children together to explain how things worked. All of His children would have to leave His presence and come to earth for a period of testing. The goal was to see if we would live a righteous life even when we had to live by faith, as we would no longer be able to remember God or heaven (that's the reason for the veil.)
If we would live a righteous life, we would be given the opportunity to return and live with God forever. Otherwise, we would forfeit that chance, because no unclean thing can live in God's presence. However, God knew we would all make mistakes, so he would provide a Savior for the world. This Savior would like a sinless life and because of that, he would qualify to pay for the sins of the world through what would be called the "Atonement." If people would sincerely repent of their sins, then the Atonement would essentially erase their sins, and they could still return and live with God. The Father called for volunteers to be this Savior, and two stepped forward: Jesus and Lucifer.
Lucifer said that he would be the savior and he would force everybody to live righteously, thus guaranteeing that all of God's spirit children would return to Him in heaven. Jesus said He would follow the Father's plan and allow God's children their (free) agency. They could choose for themselves whether to live righteously and take advantage of the Atonement, or whether to live in sin and forfeit the opportunity to return and live with God.
God rejected Lucifer's plan, causing Lucifer to rebel and declare war on God. One-third of God's spirit children joined Lucifer in this rebellion. In the end, the rebellion failed and Lucifer and his followers were cast out of heaven. They came to earth without bodies and now, continuing the war they started in heaven, they tempt man to do evil to one another and lose out on the chance to return to God.
PAY ATTENTION HERE, THIS IS THE GOOD PART!
Now, any traditional Christians reading this will see similarities to their own belief system. Most traditional Christians believe that Lucifer lived in heaven as an angel, but then declared war on God and was cast out. However, the causes for that war are not necessarily clear in traditional Christian theology.
That is where Mormon theology is so intriguing. For Mormons, the greatest of all battles, the war in heaven, was fought over LIBERTY--or as they call it, "free agency." Lucifer wanted to take it away, while God demanded that humans have it.
Although a Mormon might balk at my making comparisons between their religious beliefs and modern politics (and as I said earlier, every Mormon I've ever known was a very good person, so I apologize to any I offend), I see a direct correlation here. For a Mormon, the battle for liberty is not unique to this life; it is the core battle of the ages. Lucifer lost the war in heaven (he really thought he could beat God?), but the war continues on earth. So seeing the government become more and more tyrannical is not just a political concern; it's a fundamental, eternal concern.
I'm inspired by this Mormon theological idea: God intended for humans to be free to make our own choices and live with the consequences of those choices. The Founding Fathers of this country said essentially the same thing in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
My study of Mormonism has not only given me new-found respect for this people and their religion, it has also made me evaluate my own attitude towards the liberty that seems to be slipping through all our fingers. Is this something that is nice to have, and for which I thank the Founding Fathers? Or is it really something that is endowed by God, and that He expects me to fight for. According to Mormon theology, I already fought for this once. The fact that I'm here says I was on God's side in the war in heaven, and fought for liberty.
A Mormon might ask: why should any of us be less willing to fight for it here than we were there?
The following article originally appeared in the Canada Free Press under the headline Smart Mormons. It's author, Mike Jensen, is NOT a "Mormon" (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) I thought it was worth pondering, particularly since someone just asked me about this very subject, Mormons & liberty. I wish he'd written it BEFORE the election--maybe the Tea Party would have read it and backed Romney & we'd be singing a different tune in the White House today.
"I'm inspired by this Mormon theological idea: God intended for humans to be free to make our own choices and live with the consequences of those choices." (MJ)
By Mike Jensen, Canada Free Press, Tuesday January 22, 2013
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/print-friendly/52591
During the 2012 US Presidential campaign, that awesomely deep well of perpetual wisdom, Alec Baldwin, proclaimed that if Barack Obama were not black, his vote total would have been 20 percent higher.
People of real intelligence realize that the opposite was probably true. If he had been white, his vote total would have been 20 percent lower. The African-American voting bloc, combined with enough whites suffering from liberal guilt guaranteed a higher vote total for Obama.
The truth of the matter is, if Mitt Romney had not been a Mormon, his vote total might have been significantly higher. In fact, according to a Gallup poll released in June of last year, while 4 percent of people said they would not vote for a black president, a full 22 percent said they would not vote for a Mormon. Only (non-votes) atheists and gays ranked higher.
So Baldwin probably had it backwards, which he usually does, so that comes as no surprise.
What did come as a surprise to me is why people would have such negative views of Mormons. I have known lots of them in my life, and in most cases they have been hard-working, kind, generous, family oriented people--just the kind of people this country used to value (and maybe that's the problem right there.)
Mormons have intrigued me ever since Mike Huckabee back in 2007 claimed that Mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers. With the recent election over, I decided to check out Mormons a bit more. My hope in doing this was to explain to readers who Mormons are, and whether or not 22 percent of the people were justified in opposing having a Mormon president.
But instead I'm going to share an intriguing bit of Mormon theology I learned that I think makes them perhaps the most politically wise human beings on the planet. Ironically, this story stems from that Mike Huckabee quote about the relationship between Jesus & the devil, but the lesson to be learned is one that, regardless of our political or religious views, we would all be wise to consider.
So here's what I learned: Mormons, unlike most other Christian sects, believe that all humans lived in a life before mortality. They call this the pre-existence or pre-earth life. At birth a veil is placed over our minds so that we don't remember it (you'll see why in a minute.)
In this pre-earth life, we were all in the presence of God as His spirit children. Jesus was there--the first born of God's spirit children, and a leader in the councils of Heaven. Lucifer was also there, and was another leader among the children of God. He was called a "son of the morning."
At some point in this existence, the Father called all of His children together to explain how things worked. All of His children would have to leave His presence and come to earth for a period of testing. The goal was to see if we would live a righteous life even when we had to live by faith, as we would no longer be able to remember God or heaven (that's the reason for the veil.)
If we would live a righteous life, we would be given the opportunity to return and live with God forever. Otherwise, we would forfeit that chance, because no unclean thing can live in God's presence. However, God knew we would all make mistakes, so he would provide a Savior for the world. This Savior would like a sinless life and because of that, he would qualify to pay for the sins of the world through what would be called the "Atonement." If people would sincerely repent of their sins, then the Atonement would essentially erase their sins, and they could still return and live with God. The Father called for volunteers to be this Savior, and two stepped forward: Jesus and Lucifer.
Lucifer said that he would be the savior and he would force everybody to live righteously, thus guaranteeing that all of God's spirit children would return to Him in heaven. Jesus said He would follow the Father's plan and allow God's children their (free) agency. They could choose for themselves whether to live righteously and take advantage of the Atonement, or whether to live in sin and forfeit the opportunity to return and live with God.
God rejected Lucifer's plan, causing Lucifer to rebel and declare war on God. One-third of God's spirit children joined Lucifer in this rebellion. In the end, the rebellion failed and Lucifer and his followers were cast out of heaven. They came to earth without bodies and now, continuing the war they started in heaven, they tempt man to do evil to one another and lose out on the chance to return to God.
PAY ATTENTION HERE, THIS IS THE GOOD PART!
Now, any traditional Christians reading this will see similarities to their own belief system. Most traditional Christians believe that Lucifer lived in heaven as an angel, but then declared war on God and was cast out. However, the causes for that war are not necessarily clear in traditional Christian theology.
That is where Mormon theology is so intriguing. For Mormons, the greatest of all battles, the war in heaven, was fought over LIBERTY--or as they call it, "free agency." Lucifer wanted to take it away, while God demanded that humans have it.
Although a Mormon might balk at my making comparisons between their religious beliefs and modern politics (and as I said earlier, every Mormon I've ever known was a very good person, so I apologize to any I offend), I see a direct correlation here. For a Mormon, the battle for liberty is not unique to this life; it is the core battle of the ages. Lucifer lost the war in heaven (he really thought he could beat God?), but the war continues on earth. So seeing the government become more and more tyrannical is not just a political concern; it's a fundamental, eternal concern.
I'm inspired by this Mormon theological idea: God intended for humans to be free to make our own choices and live with the consequences of those choices. The Founding Fathers of this country said essentially the same thing in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
My study of Mormonism has not only given me new-found respect for this people and their religion, it has also made me evaluate my own attitude towards the liberty that seems to be slipping through all our fingers. Is this something that is nice to have, and for which I thank the Founding Fathers? Or is it really something that is endowed by God, and that He expects me to fight for. According to Mormon theology, I already fought for this once. The fact that I'm here says I was on God's side in the war in heaven, and fought for liberty.
A Mormon might ask: why should any of us be less willing to fight for it here than we were there?
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
BULLIES: How the Left Uses Fear & Intimidation to Silence America
I've co-opted the title of Ben Shapiro's book by this name; its title says it all. I've waited 5 days to write this blog entry--I wanted people to have a chance to view the Feb 1 post in order to take action an help preserve Boy Scout's tradition & values (you still have time, BTW, check the post.)
You can see the classic bullying tactics in the above response. When calling me anti-gay or homophobic didn't send me screaming in apology, she resorted to more name calling and profanity. When that didn't get the desired response, she went to threats. Would you like to tell my mommy too?
Ben's book is great for the simple reason that he helps you recognize, and then deal with, bullies. IMO, a bully can be quickly identified as they respond to you by calling you ----phobe, or ---phobic, ---ist. If that doesn't immediately work, then profanity usually follows (WARNING: there is profanity further in this posting), and when that fails, veiled or explicit threats to your person, livelihood, reputation are thrown. Sometimes they actually follow through on those threats.
As Ben notes, these tactics are intended to silence those who would stand up for decency, time honored values, biblical standards, or those who simply say enough is enough! They usually work, because Americans usually quail at the thought of being labeled ----phobe, ---phobic, ---ist; worse, we waste time on the defensive when what we should really be doing is saying, "Thank you for sharing. The real problem is that YOU are a ____ (Gender, Race, Religious, Class) BULLY!"
The BSA/gay leadership issue falls into these aforementioned categories for me. I'm done with a small few demanding all that is good and decent be overturned, and then threatening me or my way of life in order to get what they want. This is an important issue for me. So as I have done on occasion before, I sent an email (cut & pasted my Feb 1 post) to everyone in my email address book.
I received two emails in response. One polite though emphatic, asked to be taken out of my contacts (I imagine he/she sends the same response to every LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter invite too.) The other, from Jen Johnsen (yes, I'm calling a bully out!) appears below. The only thing I regret is that I should have said explicitly YOU ARE A BULLY instead of my milk-toast "nice to see you're still pleasant" response. I have cut and pasted the entire conversation here (BTW, I haven't been a part of the organization to which she refers for two years) :
JEN: Take me off your anti gay, homophobic mailing list.
ME: done. nice to see you are as pleasant as ever.
JEN: I don't know who this is, But we are a family that does not believe on discriminating based on race religion sexual orientation etc. If someone wants to donate their time to kids, some gay men may very well do a better job that some straight ones. And for sure a woman could never do the job... Right? Your email makes me think of the word homophobia.... Except that you don't have a phobia... You're an asshole.
ME: thanks for sharing. nice to see you are your same old pleasant self.
JEN: Hi. Kathy. I'm going to be contacting the (name deleted for privacy) to Let them know you are using (name deleted for privacy) family emails for your personal political purposes.
ME: Hi Jen. Feel free. Be honest enough to forward this response as well: I sent an email to everyone in my contacts address book. This included ALL contacts, new, old or inactive.
JEN: I'm not sure what your reply means. When you sign up and give personal information for a child's recreational sport.....It is clear on the form it will not be used for purposes beyond communications related to the league. I'm curious if you are also using people's social security numbers and personal information for your own gain too. It is a slippery slope when you blur the lines. I have already sent a message to the (name deleted) board. I will also be contacting (different name) league to alert them to the fact that you have used personal player information to attempt to forward your anti gay personal agenda. Wouldn't it have been easier to just take me off the list and not have a smart reply? :-)
ME: I'm going to say this one more time.
I sent an email on an important issue to those in my email contacts book. My contacts address book auto-includes anyone who emails me, or that I have ever emailed. I do my best to keep it current, but am not always successful. So for example, when you emailed me this morning and asked to be removed from my address book, I did it.
Since then, you have emailed me back about 5 times. Every time you do it, you auto-add yourself back into my address book. Then I have to delete you again. While I am happy to do it, don't complain then, when you want to have the last word and end up back in my address book.
I don't have a (name deleted) mailing list. I think it is unfortunate that your clear hatred of me personally, spills over into other people's lives. Wishing you all the best;
You can see the classic bullying tactics in the above response. When calling me anti-gay or homophobic didn't send me screaming in apology, she resorted to more name calling and profanity. When that didn't get the desired response, she went to threats. Would you like to tell my mommy too?
There is a certain irony that I ran the Information Technology Division at Transamerica for years; 30% of my staff were gay, ALL of them asked to be transferred in to my division solely because I was the division head. I have always had only calm, thoughtful, respectful dialogue and conversations on "hot topics" with people who also happen to be gay.
On the other hand, I often am the recipient of heated, bullying epithets by people who aren't part of the topic group (in this case, someone who is not gay.) Interestingly, as I reviewed my email list, I found that it went to a few of my acquaintances who do happen to be gay. Didn't hear a peep from them; I imagine it's because they know that this is an issue I deem to be important, not, as Bully Jen would hurl, because I am anti-gay.
Highly recommend you get Ben Shapiro's book. It's an eye opener. And then don't condescend by getting defensive; simply stating in response to the bullying tactics, "You're A Bully," pretty much shuts down the attack. After all, they're not really looking for a conversation, to understand your position, or for you to understand theirs.
And I will not be silenced by bullies. Neither should you.
Friday, February 1, 2013
TAKE ACTION! Preserve Boy Scout's Traditional Values
PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY BY CALLING OR EMAILING BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA!
They need YOUR public support to preserve the 103 year old traditional values of Scouting. BSA is asking for YOUR input through the end of Tuesday, February 5th, on whether they should allow homosexual leaders in Scouting.
We are approaching the most pivotal decision in the 103 year old history of Scouting. We in Scouting have given our lives for the traditional family values of this great movement. We respect all walks of life, and give them the right to live how they choose. We also ask for the same right as we live the way we choose.
Our National Key 3 Scouters and Board need divine assistance as they wrestle with the BSA policy on sexual orientation. For those of you who would so desire, we are asking you to join with us on a special fast this weekend for our national leaders. Call upon God in Heaven to help these great leaders make the right decision for the movement and for the youth of our country.
Last Wednesday, my sons attended a Court of Honor where they renewed their Scout Oath to be physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Please join with me to ensure that they have the opportunity to honor their oath.
They need YOUR public support to preserve the 103 year old traditional values of Scouting. BSA is asking for YOUR input through the end of Tuesday, February 5th, on whether they should allow homosexual leaders in Scouting.
DON'T WAIT. DO IT TODAY!
CALL: 972-580-2000 or 972-580-2330 A rep asks are you for or AGAINST a change in policy. Say AGAINST and you're done.
Can't get through? Email one of these two links: nationalsupportcenter@scouting.org OR http://www.scouting.org/contactus.aspx
We are approaching the most pivotal decision in the 103 year old history of Scouting. We in Scouting have given our lives for the traditional family values of this great movement. We respect all walks of life, and give them the right to live how they choose. We also ask for the same right as we live the way we choose.
Our National Key 3 Scouters and Board need divine assistance as they wrestle with the BSA policy on sexual orientation. For those of you who would so desire, we are asking you to join with us on a special fast this weekend for our national leaders. Call upon God in Heaven to help these great leaders make the right decision for the movement and for the youth of our country.
Last Wednesday, my sons attended a Court of Honor where they renewed their Scout Oath to be physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Please join with me to ensure that they have the opportunity to honor their oath.
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